News Mails - 2014

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ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL SPACE AGENCY FORUM (APRSAF)
News Mail No. 122 Nov/04/2014
http://www.aprsaf.org/
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- * CONTENTS

• 1. News on APRSAF: APRSAF-21 registration to close soon
• 2. News on APRSAF: two APRSAF-21 technical tours are accepting reservations
• 3. News on APRSAF: APRSAF Newsletter No. 19 published
• 4. News on APRSAF: a SAFE Stakeholder meeting is held in Indonesia
• 5. News on APRSAF: the SEU Report on Microgravity in Indonesia
• 6. Event Calendar
• 7. KARI appoints a new president
• 8. The Himawari-8 is successfully launched by the H-IIA F25
• 9. The IRNSS-1C is successfully launched by PSLV-C26

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* 1. News on APRSAF: APRSAF-21 registration to close soon
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Registration for APRSAF-21 has been extended due to popular demand but will be closed shortly. Those who plan to participate in APRSAF-21 and have not yet registered are requested to complete the following online registration form ASAP:
https://www.prime-pco.com/aprsaf21/sys/user/

Details of the meeting can be found below:
http://www.aprsaf.org/annual_meetings/aprsaf21/meeting_details.php

In addition, we would like to re-announce that the latest program (with improved design) is available below:
http://www.aprsaf.org/annual_meetings/aprsaf21/program.php

We apologize that our extra edition of October 29 circulated a program with incorrect information. The program has been amended as follows:

<Day1> Dec.2
15:30-17:00 Space Environment Utilization Working Group (SEUWG) <Incorrect> Special Session on **Space Exploration** <Correct> Special Session on **Space Medicine**

<Day2> Dec.3
Space Environment Utilization Working Group (SEUWG) <Incorrect>
9:00-**10:45**
Space Exploration on **Space Medicine**
<Correct>
9:00-**12:30**
Special Session on **Space Exploration**

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* 2. News on APRSAF: two APRSAF-21 technical tours are accepting reservations
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Two technical tours will be conducted in conjunction with APRSAF-21.
- Tour A
Destination: Tsukuba Space Center
Date: Friday, December 5, 2014
Time: 14:00-19:00 (TBD)
Fee: Free

- Tour B
Destination: Tanegashima Space Center
Date: Saturday, December 6, 2014-Sunday, December 7, 2014
Fee: JPY 79,000

Please note that prior registration for APRSAF-21 is required to book a place on these tours. The capacity for both tours is limited, so we recommend that you register early for APRSAF-21 and reserve a place on the Technical Tours.
http://www.aprsaf.org/annual_meetings/aprsaf21/technical_tours.php

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* 3. News on APRSAF: APRSAF Newsletter No. 19 published
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The APRSAF Newsletter No. 19 has been published online:
http://www.aprsaf.org/newsmails_newsletters/letters.php

This issue features APRSAF-21 and includes the following:
- A message from Miraikan and its Chief Executive Director, Dr. Mamoru Mohri
- Messages from the new WG co-chairs
- An introduction to the APRSAF-21 side events
- A report from the APRSAF ExCom
- A message to the APRSAF Community by Dr. Alex Held, CSIRO, Australia

Hard copies will be delivered to subscribers who have registered in advance. If you wish to subscribe to future issues of our newsletter, please provide the necessary information, using the subscription form below:
https://www.aprsaf.org/newsmails_newsletters/form/

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* 4. News on APRSAF: a SAFE Stakeholder meeting is held in Indonesia
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A SAFE stakeholder meeting to discuss an Indonesian prototype called “The Assessment of Mangrove Forest Carbon Stock Monitoring of Indonesia using Remote Sensing Approach” was held on September 10, 2014 at the Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN). A total of 44 participants from 12 organizations (including potential user agencies) heard a progress report on the prototype and attended presentations about related activities.
For details, please refer to the following:

- Stakeholder meeting report:
http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/SAFE/events/stakeholder_idn_2014sep_report.html
- Introduction of the prototype:
http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/SAFE/protoact/idn_201212_ongoing/indonesia_201212.html

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* 5. News on APRSAF: the SEU Report on Microgravity in Indonesia
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JAXA's KUOA (Kibo Utilization Office for Asia) News has released details of recent microgravity research activities in Indonesia, publishing an online report that describes the plant's response to gravity by a research team from the Bandung Institute of Technology, and the production of a simple drop tower by engineers from the LAPAN Space Science Center.

These two news stories are good examples of the sort of activities that motivate scientists and engineers to use the Kibo facilities productively for the Asia-Pacific region, added the KUOA News.

*Kibo: the Japanese Experiment Module of the International Space Station

Reference:
- KUOA News
http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/kuoa/news/140929.html

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* 6. Event Calendar
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- GIS/RS User Conference 2014
(25-27 Nov 2014, Suva, Fiji)
http://picgisrs.appspot.com/

- Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR)
(14-18 Mar 2015, Sendai, Japan)
http://www.wcdrr.org/home

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* 7. KARI appoints a new president
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On October 15, 2014, the National Research Council of Science and Technology of Korea (NST) held an extraordinary board meeting to appoint Dr. Cho Kwang Rae as the new President of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). Dr. Cho joined the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) in 1988 and was transferred in 1989 to KARI, where he has been involved in developing sounding rockets and launch vehicles. Dr. Cho currently serves as a member of the research council of the KSLV-2 development work group. He is also a member of the Advisory Committee for Space of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP).

Reference:
- NST News (in Korean)
http://www.nst.re.kr/site/science/sub.do?Key=2511&mode=VIEW&post=14

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* 8. The Himawari-8 is successfully launched by the H-IIA F25
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The Japanese Geostationary Meteorological Satellite “Himawari-8” (“himawari” means sunflower in Japanese) was successfully launched by the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 25 on October 7, 2014, from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. Himawari-8 and Himawari-9, the successor to the MTSAT series, whose launch is scheduled for 2016, will be operated by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) at around 140 degrees east; they will cover the East Asia and Western Pacific regions. Images derived from the satellites will be distributed to overseas agencies, including member agencies of the National Meteorological and Hydro-meteorological Services (NMHS), via an Internet cloud service, while the HimawariCast service will disseminate primary sets of images via a communication satellite.

References:
- JAXA Press Release
http://global.jaxa.jp/press/2014/10/20141007_h2af25.html
- JMA Himawari-8/9
http://www.data.jma.go.jp/mscweb/en/himawari89/index.html
- JMA Meteorological satellites
http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/jma-eng/satellite/index.html

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* 9. The IRNSS-1C is successfully launched by PSLV-C26
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The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-1C (IRNSS-1C) was successfully launched by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C26 on October 15, 2014 (UTC), from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. IRNSS-1C is the third of seven satellites that make up the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, following IRNSS-1A and IRNSS-1B. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch the fourth satellite, IRNSS-1D, in a few months. The remaining three are scheduled to be sent into orbit by March 2016.

References:
- ISRO Press Release
http://www.isro.org/pressrelease/scripts/pressreleasein.aspx?Oct16_2014
- PSLV-C26/IRNSS-1C Mission Brochure (PDF, 7.18 MB)
http://www.isro.org/pslv-c26/pdf/pslv-c26-brochure.pdf

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Copyright 2014 The APRSAF Secretariat

APRSAF News Mails are distributed to update the readers on recent developments in space-related activities in the Asia-Pacific region.

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We welcome your updates on space-related activities and also your comments and suggestions to the APRSAF secretariat.

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APRSAF Secretariat
c/o Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
ochanomizu sola city, 4-6 Kandasurugadai, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 101-8008 Japan
Tel: +81-50-3362-5880 / Fax: +81-3-5209-3208
E-mail: secretariataprsaf.org
Web: http://www.aprsaf.org
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